The numbers were not bad by 2014 standards, but the NBA Finals hit five-year lows in both ratings and viewership en route to one of the lowest averages in nearly forty years.
The five-game Spurs/Heat NBA Finals averaged a 9.3 rating and 15.5 million viewers on ABC, down 11% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year’s seven game series between the teams (10.5, 17.7M) and down 8% in both measures from the five-game Heat/Thunder series in 2012 (10.1, 16.9M). Compared to last year’s five-game average, ratings and viewership improved 2% and 3%, respectively, from a 9.1 and 15.1 million.
The Spurs/Heat series ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed NBA Finals since Lakers/Magic in 2009 (8.4, 14.3M). It is the first NBA Finals to average a single-digit rating since that 2009 series, ending a streak of four-straight double-digit series. On a positive note for ABC, this year’s series was only the third since the network acquired rights in which every game drew at least a 9.0 rating.
Overall, Spurs/Heat tied the ninth-lowest rating for an NBA Finals since at least 1976, matching Celtics/Lakers in 2008. The 2008 series averaged fewer viewers (14.9M).
ABC has now aired seven of the ten lowest rated NBA Finals dating back to ’76. The lone exceptions are the 1979-81 NBA Finals on CBS — the ‘tape delay’ era in which CBS aired at least one game from each series on tape delay at 11:30 PM. The Spurs have played in four of the ten lowest rated series, more than any other team. The Lakers, of all teams, rank second with three appearances on the list.
Game 5 of the series earned a 10.3 rating and 17.9 million viewers Sunday night, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 8% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (9.5, 16.3M), but down 6% and 3%, respectively, from 2012 (10.9, 18.4M). Sunday’s game ranks as the fifth-most watched Game 5 in ABC’s twelve years carrying the NBA, but the lowest rated and least-viewed NBA Finals clincher since Lakers/Magic in ’09 (8.0, 14.2M).
Despite the lower numbers, the NBA Finals still outdrew the World Series. Last year’s Red Sox/Cardinals match-up averaged an 8.9 rating and 14.9 million viewers over six games (an 8.5 and 14.1 million over five). With that said, the series finished behind the five-game Bowl Championship Series on ESPN (9.4, 16.5M) and the three-game NCAA Tournament Final Four* (9.5, 16.4M).
Demographic data for the NBA Finals was not immediately available.
* CBS/Turner Final Four figures are approximate.
(Game 5 numbers+series avg. from ESPN Media Zone)
